Jesse's Current Affairs
Here's a different kind of treat. My esteemed teammate Jesse Honey (the kind of twentysomething quizzer who makes people like me look over their shoulder and say thank God we've been quizzing solidly for ten years otherwise this fella would be quite a bit better than us) sets a current affairs quiz league format quiz every so often. Only thing is a lot of QLL teams are not keen on stuff that appears in the news and have the same feelings towards current affairs quizzes as many people might have towards eating Marmite-covered broccoli. Actually I can't say we thrived on them too much. The first and last time we did such a news quiz the Animals beat us silly. But then again, Dave did say "I love my newspapers". A salutary lesson to us all.
BTW Jesse, town-planner of the future, has a British geography knowledge that borders on the astonishing. His ability to amend Wikipedia entries in a hilarious way is not.
CURRENT AFFAIRS FRIENDLY QUIZ set by Jesse Honey
All rounds are on events between late November 2005 and present
ROUND ONE
1a. What was the name of the police officer shot dead in an armed robbery in Bradford?
SHARON BESHINEVSKY
1b. The gang who shot WPC Beshinevsky were suspected of drugs trafficking- specifically in which stimulant, still legal in Britain but banned in the USA and most of Europe?
QAT
2a. The Turner Prize was won by Simon Starling with which piece of mutant building/sculpture?
SHEDBOATSHED
2b. Its first draft, according to its creator, ‘sort of looked like a pork butcher from Norwich’ The benign but slightly strained smile of the subject in the final version might be explained by the artist’s use of his most famous catchphrase during the sittings. What is it?
ROLF HARRIS’S PORTRAIT OF THE QUEEN
3a. Which Pakistani batsman hit an astonishing 67 from 62 balls during the Test series against England in November?
SHAHID AFRIDI
3b. At one point during the Test Series against Pakistan, England players got a shock when an explosion interrupted play. Inevitably, terrorism was initially suspected, but what was the real cause of the blast?
GAS CANISTER EXPLODING
4a. The pocket cartoonist in the Guardian died aged 70 in November- what was his nom de plume?
AUSTIN
4b. The Daily Mirror has given what not particularly funny name, a thinly-veiled reference to previous drugs allegations, to a recurring cartoon of a ventriloquist’s dummy wearing a monocle which is supposed to represent David Cameron?
LORD CHARLIE
ROUND TWO
1a. Sophisticated analysis by an expert who once interpreted spy satellite images for the RAF has discovered the last resting place of what, two years after its failed interplanetary mission?
BEAGLE TWO (ON MARS)
1b. Using a new technology called StealthText, what innovation can you now add to your text messages for an extra 50p?
THE ABILITY TO SELF-DESTRUCT/DELETE (ACCEPT SIMILAR)
2a. What phrase has been used by the media to describe the US-organised transfer of terrorist suspects to secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe?
(EXTRAORDINARY) RENDITION
2b. According to the Daily Mirror, Tony Blair persuaded George Bush not to bomb which Middle Eastern building?
AL JAZEERA HEADQUARTERS (IN QATAR)
3a What is the name of the first female German chancellor, elected in November?
ANGELA MERKEL
3b. What concept, from the Latin for hem or edge, looks likely to be erased from Roman Catholic doctrine, as Benedict XVI is not keen on it?
LIMBO
4a. Which two British clubs were drawn in the same knock-out pool of the Champions League last autumn? The other two teams were Real Betis and Anderlecht.
LIVERPOOL and CHELSEA
4b. Manchester United’s defeat to which team in the knock-out pool of the Champions League in December has now become their last European fixture for the forseeable future?
BENFICA
ROUND THREE
1a. Young Australians of which ethnic extraction were at the centre of beachfront riots involving headscarves being ripped off women, baseball bats and racist anti-Muslim chanting?
LEBANESE
1b. Who was convicted of the murder of Peter Falconio in the Northern Territory in 2001?
BRADLEY MURDOCH
2a. Which former sportsman won the celebrity edition of Strictly Come Dancing? He said ‘I hope I've shown people that you can be a macho guy and still dance. I am a big bloke."
DARREN GOUGH
2b. Which boxer announced that he might move abroad in order to fulfil his ambition of fighting the superstars of the welterweight and light welterweight divisions? RICKY HATTON
3a. Michael Barton and Paul Taylor were convicted in December of the racist murder of which black teenager in Liverpool?
ANTHONY WALKER
3b. Police closed their investigation into the attack on which pregnant woman, concluding that Richard Cazaly, who has since committed suicide, was the culprit?
ABIGAIL WITCHELLS
4a. Which formerly secret organisation is to commission its first ever official history, but with disclosures ending at 1949?
MI6 (SIS)
4b. Which division of the armed forces were embarrassed by a secretly filmed video showing some of their brutal initiation practices?
ROYAL MARINES
ROUND FOUR
1a. What three-word phrase is popularly used for criminal cases in which somebody pleads manslaughter rather than murder when being tried for killing their partner on the grounds that he or she was provoked to do it?
CRIME OF PASSION
1b. What two-word phrase is used in American schools for a creationist-influenced theory, claiming that some organisms are so complicated they suggest a guiding, probably divine, hand in their evolution? It is used as an alternative to Darwinism in some biology classrooms.
INTELLIGENT DESIGN
2a. BBC bosses were not happy about jokes made by Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear. As well as giving a Nazi salute to show how indicators on the new BMW Mini might work and claiming that the satellite navigation system ‘only goes to Poland’, for how long did he imagine that the fanbelt might last?
A THOUSAND YEARS
2b. BBC bosses were not happy after discovering a dubious reworking of an episode of which classic program for sale on eBay? It features baddies from the series chasing scantily-clad women and watching them perform Sapphic acts.
DOCTOR WHO
3a. Omar Bongo, who amazingly cruised to victory again in November with a massive majority, inviting comparisons with Robert Mugabe, is the president of which corrupt African state?
GABON
3b. Yoweri Musaveni is another corrupt central African leader- he has invited his wife to stand in the country’s parliamentary elections in 2006. Of which country is he President?
UGANDA
4a. Which oil giant plans to build, in their words, the “biggest alternative power business in the world", based on solar and wind power and hydrogen plants?
BP
4b. Greenpeace protestors clambered into the rafters waving a banner saying ‘Nuclear: wrong answer’ above a bemused Tony Blair, whose speech on energy was delayed as a result. At which London conference venue did this occur in November 2005?
BUSINESS DESIGN CENTRE
ROUND FIVE
1a. What is the name of the 74-year old British peace activist captured in Iraq by a group calling themselves the ‘Swords of Righteousness Brigade’?
NORMAN KEMBER
1b. Murielle Degaque, a baker’s assistant and waitress, became the first person of which nationality to become a suicide bomber in Baghdad after converting from Christianity to hardline Islam?
BELGIAN
2a. Which minnows did Arsenal finally defeat in the Carling Cup quarter-finals via a penalty shoot-out?
DONCASTER ROVERS
2b. Sports Minister Richard Caborn said it "beggared belief" that fans of which far-from-Tyneside club were allowed to travel to Newcastle at the New Year only for this Premiership match to be postponed 25 minutes before kick-off due to cold temperatures?
CHARLTON ATHLETIC
3a. On the 5 December, for the first time in its history, the Times Births, Marriages and Deaths column included an extra section with which specific heading?
CIVIL PARTNERSHIPS
3b. In which city did the UK’s first legal lesbian marriage occur? The ceremony was marred (or enhanced, depending on your sense of humour) by conservative activists outside the City Hall waving placards stating that ‘sodomy is sin’.
BELFAST
4a. Who won December’s edition of ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’?
CAROL THATCHER
4b. Celebrities including Sarah Jessica Parker, Uma Thurman, Julia Roberts and Madonna have all been spotted doing which sartorial activity, a new craze in Hollywood? Geri Halliwell was also seen doing it while in a bikini.
KNITTING
ROUND SIX
1a. Who escaped a red card for a very harsh tackle on Dietmar Hamann during Liverpool’s 0-0 draw with Chelsea in December?
MICHAEL ESSIEN
1b. Which football club sacked coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo after only 11 months in charge in December 2005?
REAL MADRID
2a. When Elton John married his boyfriend David Furnish, what breed of dog did they choose as Best Man?
A SPANIEL
2b. In December, who secretly married his girlfriend Gill Hinchcliffe and then was knighted the next day by the Queen?
(SIR) DAVID JASON
3a. Before Charles Kennedy’s (and later, his own) unfortunate fall from grace, what position did Mark Oaten hold on the Lib Dem front bench?
HOME AFFAIRS
3b. Who is the current Shadow Foreign Secretary?
WILLIAM HAGUE
4a. In which English county was a baby jackass penguin stolen from the inappropriately-named Amazon World?
ISLE OF WIGHT
4b. In which English county are the designers of the Eden Project planning to transform a rubbish dump into a self-heating, sustainable greenhouse with a waterfall?
LANCASHIRE
ROUND SEVEN
1a. What punning headline, arguably verging on genius and alluding to a currently popular reality TV programme, and was employed by the Sun this Saturday for its inevitable cetacean story?
CELEBRITY BIG BLUBBER
1b. The RSPCA claimed to be ‘appalled’ in December by ministers’ announcement of a 12-week consultation on the culling of which animal?
BADGERS
2a. Which property developer faces damages of more than £10 million after a civil ruling that he did indeed order the killing of former business associate Mohammed Raja?
NICHOLAS van HOOGSTRATEN
2b. In December 2005, which off-licence chain collapsed amidst auditing irregularities?
UNWINS
3a. Who is Tony Blair addressing here in December 2005? ‘You sit with our country's flag, but you do not represent our interests. This is 2005, not 1945. We are not fighting each other any more’?
UKIP MEPS
3b. Who, perhaps surprisingly, given past comments about Margaret Thatcher, has backed the Conservative’s policy commission on international development?
BOB GELDOF
4a. What is the name of the new political party formed late last year by Ariel Sharon, Hebrew for ‘forward’?
KADIMA
4b. Amir Peretz is the leader of which party, whose poll standing jumped up when Shimon Peres announced his decision to leave and join Ariel Sharon in Kadima?
LABOUR
ROUND EIGHT
1a. Russia cut off gas supplies over the New Year to which former Soviet republic?
UKRAINE
1b. Five centuries of white rule recently ended with the election of President Evo Morales, the first native American head of state in which country?
BOLIVIA
2a. Which Radio 4 programme, which many thought should have been respectfully discontinued in October 2004, was finally axed in December 2005?
HOME TRUTHS
2b. Which Radio 4 announcer was chosen 30 years ago as the so-called "voice of doom" whose pre-recorded announcement would be broadcast on national radio in the event of a nuclear attack on Britain?
PETER DONALDSON
3a. Surgeons at the Royal Free Hospital in London have been granted permission to perform what new procedure in 2006, previously carried out only in France?
FACE TRANSPLANT
3b. Rogue morticians in Brooklyn allegedly removed whose bones from his dead body to sell as transplant tissue?
ALISTAIR COOKE
4a. In which European country did controversial historian David Irving spend several weeks in prison, having been arrested for denying the holocaust? Oddly enough, he discovered two of his own supposedly banned books in the prsion library.
AUSTRIA
4b. A weblog appeared in November highlighting corruption in the blogger’s European country. He seeks to clean up parliament and claims that 23 MPs have been convicted of crimes, yet are allowed to retain their seats- where?
ITALY
SPARES
1. Which Labour troublemaker was ordered out of the Commons for alleging that Shadow Chancellor George Osborne had snorted cocaine?
DENNIS SKINNER
2. In which city were UN climate talks held in December that it was hoped would lead to a follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol?
MONTREAL
3. London saw the last of what familiar sight just before Christmas that had been a feature of the capital for over sixty years?
ROUTEMASTER BUSES
4. Adair Turner produced an important report for the government late last year into which problem, increasingly seen by most commentators as becoming a near-insoluble crisis?
PENSIONS
5. Which major city in China was threatened by benzene pollution from the Songhua river in November?
HARBIN
BTW Jesse, town-planner of the future, has a British geography knowledge that borders on the astonishing. His ability to amend Wikipedia entries in a hilarious way is not.
CURRENT AFFAIRS FRIENDLY QUIZ set by Jesse Honey
All rounds are on events between late November 2005 and present
ROUND ONE
1a. What was the name of the police officer shot dead in an armed robbery in Bradford?
SHARON BESHINEVSKY
1b. The gang who shot WPC Beshinevsky were suspected of drugs trafficking- specifically in which stimulant, still legal in Britain but banned in the USA and most of Europe?
QAT
2a. The Turner Prize was won by Simon Starling with which piece of mutant building/sculpture?
SHEDBOATSHED
2b. Its first draft, according to its creator, ‘sort of looked like a pork butcher from Norwich’ The benign but slightly strained smile of the subject in the final version might be explained by the artist’s use of his most famous catchphrase during the sittings. What is it?
ROLF HARRIS’S PORTRAIT OF THE QUEEN
3a. Which Pakistani batsman hit an astonishing 67 from 62 balls during the Test series against England in November?
SHAHID AFRIDI
3b. At one point during the Test Series against Pakistan, England players got a shock when an explosion interrupted play. Inevitably, terrorism was initially suspected, but what was the real cause of the blast?
GAS CANISTER EXPLODING
4a. The pocket cartoonist in the Guardian died aged 70 in November- what was his nom de plume?
AUSTIN
4b. The Daily Mirror has given what not particularly funny name, a thinly-veiled reference to previous drugs allegations, to a recurring cartoon of a ventriloquist’s dummy wearing a monocle which is supposed to represent David Cameron?
LORD CHARLIE
ROUND TWO
1a. Sophisticated analysis by an expert who once interpreted spy satellite images for the RAF has discovered the last resting place of what, two years after its failed interplanetary mission?
BEAGLE TWO (ON MARS)
1b. Using a new technology called StealthText, what innovation can you now add to your text messages for an extra 50p?
THE ABILITY TO SELF-DESTRUCT/DELETE (ACCEPT SIMILAR)
2a. What phrase has been used by the media to describe the US-organised transfer of terrorist suspects to secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe?
(EXTRAORDINARY) RENDITION
2b. According to the Daily Mirror, Tony Blair persuaded George Bush not to bomb which Middle Eastern building?
AL JAZEERA HEADQUARTERS (IN QATAR)
3a What is the name of the first female German chancellor, elected in November?
ANGELA MERKEL
3b. What concept, from the Latin for hem or edge, looks likely to be erased from Roman Catholic doctrine, as Benedict XVI is not keen on it?
LIMBO
4a. Which two British clubs were drawn in the same knock-out pool of the Champions League last autumn? The other two teams were Real Betis and Anderlecht.
LIVERPOOL and CHELSEA
4b. Manchester United’s defeat to which team in the knock-out pool of the Champions League in December has now become their last European fixture for the forseeable future?
BENFICA
ROUND THREE
1a. Young Australians of which ethnic extraction were at the centre of beachfront riots involving headscarves being ripped off women, baseball bats and racist anti-Muslim chanting?
LEBANESE
1b. Who was convicted of the murder of Peter Falconio in the Northern Territory in 2001?
BRADLEY MURDOCH
2a. Which former sportsman won the celebrity edition of Strictly Come Dancing? He said ‘I hope I've shown people that you can be a macho guy and still dance. I am a big bloke."
DARREN GOUGH
2b. Which boxer announced that he might move abroad in order to fulfil his ambition of fighting the superstars of the welterweight and light welterweight divisions? RICKY HATTON
3a. Michael Barton and Paul Taylor were convicted in December of the racist murder of which black teenager in Liverpool?
ANTHONY WALKER
3b. Police closed their investigation into the attack on which pregnant woman, concluding that Richard Cazaly, who has since committed suicide, was the culprit?
ABIGAIL WITCHELLS
4a. Which formerly secret organisation is to commission its first ever official history, but with disclosures ending at 1949?
MI6 (SIS)
4b. Which division of the armed forces were embarrassed by a secretly filmed video showing some of their brutal initiation practices?
ROYAL MARINES
ROUND FOUR
1a. What three-word phrase is popularly used for criminal cases in which somebody pleads manslaughter rather than murder when being tried for killing their partner on the grounds that he or she was provoked to do it?
CRIME OF PASSION
1b. What two-word phrase is used in American schools for a creationist-influenced theory, claiming that some organisms are so complicated they suggest a guiding, probably divine, hand in their evolution? It is used as an alternative to Darwinism in some biology classrooms.
INTELLIGENT DESIGN
2a. BBC bosses were not happy about jokes made by Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear. As well as giving a Nazi salute to show how indicators on the new BMW Mini might work and claiming that the satellite navigation system ‘only goes to Poland’, for how long did he imagine that the fanbelt might last?
A THOUSAND YEARS
2b. BBC bosses were not happy after discovering a dubious reworking of an episode of which classic program for sale on eBay? It features baddies from the series chasing scantily-clad women and watching them perform Sapphic acts.
DOCTOR WHO
3a. Omar Bongo, who amazingly cruised to victory again in November with a massive majority, inviting comparisons with Robert Mugabe, is the president of which corrupt African state?
GABON
3b. Yoweri Musaveni is another corrupt central African leader- he has invited his wife to stand in the country’s parliamentary elections in 2006. Of which country is he President?
UGANDA
4a. Which oil giant plans to build, in their words, the “biggest alternative power business in the world", based on solar and wind power and hydrogen plants?
BP
4b. Greenpeace protestors clambered into the rafters waving a banner saying ‘Nuclear: wrong answer’ above a bemused Tony Blair, whose speech on energy was delayed as a result. At which London conference venue did this occur in November 2005?
BUSINESS DESIGN CENTRE
ROUND FIVE
1a. What is the name of the 74-year old British peace activist captured in Iraq by a group calling themselves the ‘Swords of Righteousness Brigade’?
NORMAN KEMBER
1b. Murielle Degaque, a baker’s assistant and waitress, became the first person of which nationality to become a suicide bomber in Baghdad after converting from Christianity to hardline Islam?
BELGIAN
2a. Which minnows did Arsenal finally defeat in the Carling Cup quarter-finals via a penalty shoot-out?
DONCASTER ROVERS
2b. Sports Minister Richard Caborn said it "beggared belief" that fans of which far-from-Tyneside club were allowed to travel to Newcastle at the New Year only for this Premiership match to be postponed 25 minutes before kick-off due to cold temperatures?
CHARLTON ATHLETIC
3a. On the 5 December, for the first time in its history, the Times Births, Marriages and Deaths column included an extra section with which specific heading?
CIVIL PARTNERSHIPS
3b. In which city did the UK’s first legal lesbian marriage occur? The ceremony was marred (or enhanced, depending on your sense of humour) by conservative activists outside the City Hall waving placards stating that ‘sodomy is sin’.
BELFAST
4a. Who won December’s edition of ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’?
CAROL THATCHER
4b. Celebrities including Sarah Jessica Parker, Uma Thurman, Julia Roberts and Madonna have all been spotted doing which sartorial activity, a new craze in Hollywood? Geri Halliwell was also seen doing it while in a bikini.
KNITTING
ROUND SIX
1a. Who escaped a red card for a very harsh tackle on Dietmar Hamann during Liverpool’s 0-0 draw with Chelsea in December?
MICHAEL ESSIEN
1b. Which football club sacked coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo after only 11 months in charge in December 2005?
REAL MADRID
2a. When Elton John married his boyfriend David Furnish, what breed of dog did they choose as Best Man?
A SPANIEL
2b. In December, who secretly married his girlfriend Gill Hinchcliffe and then was knighted the next day by the Queen?
(SIR) DAVID JASON
3a. Before Charles Kennedy’s (and later, his own) unfortunate fall from grace, what position did Mark Oaten hold on the Lib Dem front bench?
HOME AFFAIRS
3b. Who is the current Shadow Foreign Secretary?
WILLIAM HAGUE
4a. In which English county was a baby jackass penguin stolen from the inappropriately-named Amazon World?
ISLE OF WIGHT
4b. In which English county are the designers of the Eden Project planning to transform a rubbish dump into a self-heating, sustainable greenhouse with a waterfall?
LANCASHIRE
ROUND SEVEN
1a. What punning headline, arguably verging on genius and alluding to a currently popular reality TV programme, and was employed by the Sun this Saturday for its inevitable cetacean story?
CELEBRITY BIG BLUBBER
1b. The RSPCA claimed to be ‘appalled’ in December by ministers’ announcement of a 12-week consultation on the culling of which animal?
BADGERS
2a. Which property developer faces damages of more than £10 million after a civil ruling that he did indeed order the killing of former business associate Mohammed Raja?
NICHOLAS van HOOGSTRATEN
2b. In December 2005, which off-licence chain collapsed amidst auditing irregularities?
UNWINS
3a. Who is Tony Blair addressing here in December 2005? ‘You sit with our country's flag, but you do not represent our interests. This is 2005, not 1945. We are not fighting each other any more’?
UKIP MEPS
3b. Who, perhaps surprisingly, given past comments about Margaret Thatcher, has backed the Conservative’s policy commission on international development?
BOB GELDOF
4a. What is the name of the new political party formed late last year by Ariel Sharon, Hebrew for ‘forward’?
KADIMA
4b. Amir Peretz is the leader of which party, whose poll standing jumped up when Shimon Peres announced his decision to leave and join Ariel Sharon in Kadima?
LABOUR
ROUND EIGHT
1a. Russia cut off gas supplies over the New Year to which former Soviet republic?
UKRAINE
1b. Five centuries of white rule recently ended with the election of President Evo Morales, the first native American head of state in which country?
BOLIVIA
2a. Which Radio 4 programme, which many thought should have been respectfully discontinued in October 2004, was finally axed in December 2005?
HOME TRUTHS
2b. Which Radio 4 announcer was chosen 30 years ago as the so-called "voice of doom" whose pre-recorded announcement would be broadcast on national radio in the event of a nuclear attack on Britain?
PETER DONALDSON
3a. Surgeons at the Royal Free Hospital in London have been granted permission to perform what new procedure in 2006, previously carried out only in France?
FACE TRANSPLANT
3b. Rogue morticians in Brooklyn allegedly removed whose bones from his dead body to sell as transplant tissue?
ALISTAIR COOKE
4a. In which European country did controversial historian David Irving spend several weeks in prison, having been arrested for denying the holocaust? Oddly enough, he discovered two of his own supposedly banned books in the prsion library.
AUSTRIA
4b. A weblog appeared in November highlighting corruption in the blogger’s European country. He seeks to clean up parliament and claims that 23 MPs have been convicted of crimes, yet are allowed to retain their seats- where?
ITALY
SPARES
1. Which Labour troublemaker was ordered out of the Commons for alleging that Shadow Chancellor George Osborne had snorted cocaine?
DENNIS SKINNER
2. In which city were UN climate talks held in December that it was hoped would lead to a follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol?
MONTREAL
3. London saw the last of what familiar sight just before Christmas that had been a feature of the capital for over sixty years?
ROUTEMASTER BUSES
4. Adair Turner produced an important report for the government late last year into which problem, increasingly seen by most commentators as becoming a near-insoluble crisis?
PENSIONS
5. Which major city in China was threatened by benzene pollution from the Songhua river in November?
HARBIN
posted by That Quiz Guy at 4:39 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home